Resident Evil Revelations Demo Impressions

There’s something that’s been missing from the Resident Evil series as of late – That building tension while you edge around each corner and slowly pace yourself down each hall, taking in every aspect of your environment to predict what will jump at you next. It is a feeling that not many titles seem to be able to live up to. The Resident Evil franchise is seemingly focusing more on Chris’ big manly muscles and action sequences than actually working to create a chilling experience. The trailer for Resident Evil 6 doesn’t calm my fears either, but Resident Evil Revelations looks to be giving us a glimpse of where the series could have gone if Resident Evil 4 was taken in a more conservative direction.

One of the first things you’ll notice when booting up Resident Evil Revelations is that Capcom is still a master of 3D on the 3DS. The effects are well used and give the title a strong visual flair. Turning the 3D up all the way in both the options and with the slider looks pretty much amazing, although you’ll need the eyes of God to survive it at full power. That, and the title is looking to be simply one of the best looking games on the platform, even in 2D. Despite being a hand-held release, it does an effective job at building a creepy atmosphere with low-lit rooms and disturbing sound effects as you slowly navigate the unknown path in front of you. Although, there are still some signs of it being a hand-held release including what sounds like slightly compressed sound effects and voice acting that stand out a bit more than normal given the titles’ console-like presentation.

As fantastic as the visuals are, what really stands out here is the more scaled back action from the more recent entries. The title controls like the later Resident Evil releases, but Revelations’ demo takes place mostly in small rooms and corridors. Throw in scarce amounts of ammunition and some creepy zombie…like…things… that can both take shots and deal out the pain, and you’ve yourself a strong feeling of helplessness not seen in many titles today. Even picking up a shotgun doesn’t do much but add a last line of defense, since in the demo you’re given so few rounds . Knowing when to fight or run can save you a lot of trouble, as well as supplies and ammunition. The demo also features a “Hell” difficulty, that makes this aspect even more prevalent as there simply isn’t enough ammo to power your way through all situations.

If you’re a 3DS owner, there’s really no reason not to check out this Resident EvilRevelations demo at the very least. Well, unless you don’t fulfill the age requirement for your region! Resident Evil Revelations is looking to be a hard 3DS title for other publishers to beat. We’ll know for sure how it stacks up when it hits store shelves February 7 in North America.